eh
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Wednesday, 28 March 2018 14:25 (six years ago) link
metal has both anti-political/escapist as well as knee-jerk anti-establishment characteristics so it's easy to write narratives supporting either stereotype.
― Siegbran, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 14:30 (six years ago) link
Pretty much. I general prefer the former but am not averse to the latter, as long as there's more to it than just that ('this music is good because it supports good politics' is both aesthetically and politically naïve).
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 14:33 (six years ago) link
*generally
('this music is good because it supports good politics' is both aesthetically and politically naïve)
has anyone said or thought this in the history of saying or thinking things
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 28 March 2018 15:47 (six years ago) link
Politics is prescriptive. When it takes over aesthetics, it does tend to separate the chaff from the wheat on the basis of extra-artistic (which is a misnomer since art qua art does not exist according to this logic) values. Very few people who condemn aesthetic neutrality would admit to it, but the implication is there (we all must take sides and said sides cannot be neutral, hence we must seek the political good even in music). My position is that there is politics in all music but that this does not make it inherently or essentially political. It is traversed by something else (some ‘thing’, which can be equated with politics but is not reducible to it). When all is said and done, this ‘thing’ is precisely what we’re lending our ears to when we listen to music.
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:00 (six years ago) link
('this music is good because it supports good politics' is both aesthetically and politically naïve)has anyone said or thought this in the history of saying or thinking things
Yeah, I'd like one specific example of a band pomenitul thinks makes shitty music, but gets a political thumb on the scale from critics or fans. Just one will do.
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:10 (six years ago) link
I love how you’re all just focusing on the straw man. Anyway, socialist realism, which was an official, state-sanctioned ideology being the Iron Curtain (and still very much exists in various parts of the world today) would be a classic example.
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:13 (six years ago) link
*behind (sorry, on my phone).
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:15 (six years ago) link
That's nice, but can you name a socialist realist metal band? We're talking about metal here.
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:21 (six years ago) link
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TRV9i9S27VQ/UVB49vxrCuI/AAAAAAAAK_g/nBHJTYLqiOM/s1600/who-gives-a-shit.jpg
― Whiney G. Weingarten, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:23 (six years ago) link
I do. A lot, in fact, as you've no doubted noticed. I care because it defines the way we talk about music (and art in general).
That wouldn't prove your point (we're talking about listeners' attitudes, so reception trumps production here), nor are you engaging with the fleshed-out version of my argument which, incidentally, leaves more than just a bit of wiggle room for the political. Anyway, to reiterate before I get back to work: if neutrality is merely a 'sham' (as Simon put it – and I'm assuming he was referring to a musical and hence aesthetic context, as I agree with him if he meant it on a purely political level) then metal is thoroughly defined by the partisan politics not only of those make it but also of those who consume it, as if there were nothing in excess (something potentially apolitical or extra-political) that isn't merely reducible to the battle between left and right. Like I said, very few people who express contempt for aesthetic neutrality actually believe this, because it's an absolutist position that is quite hard to enact in practice.
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:34 (six years ago) link
if neutrality is merely a 'sham'...then metal is thoroughly defined by the partisan politics not only of those make it but also of those who consume it, as if there were nothing in excess
even on a purely logical level this isn't the case. the absence of an ideal neutrality, assuming "ideal neutrality" makes sense as a thought, would apply across every cultural product and therefore would just be a given when dealing with ways of receiving and creating them. that doesn't imply it's the entirety of reception or creativity any more than concepts like texture or subject or performance are. there isn't a quintessential substance, just a mesh of concepts.
― bad left terf nut (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:44 (six years ago) link
sorry, shorter: "everything is political" is rarely used with the unspoken thought "and only political" tacked on
― bad left terf nut (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:46 (six years ago) link
I'm certainly not arguing in favour of some quintessential substance (what I call the thing's 'excess' cannot be that, by definition, and neutrality, well, neutralises substance, as it is neither this nor that – it is a kind of ambiguity, if you will, which is precisely what draws me to art). As for the shorter version of your point, usage varies quite a bit, and the statement 'everything is political' does all too often imply an absolutist exclusivity (imho): 'nothing isn't political', i.e. 'solely nothing escapes the omnipotence of politics', which makes the aspiration towards aesthetic neutrality seem nihilistic. Anyway, I don't want to derail this thread.
― pomenitul, Wednesday, 28 March 2018 16:54 (six years ago) link
Awful news about Caleb Scofield. RIP.
― wronger than 100 geir posts (MacDara), Thursday, 29 March 2018 20:05 (six years ago) link
Metal thread's probably the wrong place for it, but Zeal and Ardor has a new track out: bandcamp.
No obvious trace of BM in the sound. Basically just a big, booming gospel-industrial stomp. Don't particularly care for it, tbh.
― not quite as cool as seeing damo's wang but (contenderizer), Thursday, 29 March 2018 21:29 (six years ago) link
New Lychgate for people who like their death metal with a massive Castlevania church organ vibe.
http://blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/the-contagion-in-nine-steps
― my dreams in the hell-pits (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 30 March 2018 11:00 (six years ago) link
This Inhumankind album on I, Voidhanger is... something.
http://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/self-extinction
Double bass, flute and vocals. It's quite insane.
― my dreams in the hell-pits (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Friday, 30 March 2018 11:09 (six years ago) link
So Ad Hominem is pretty much unapologetic NSBM and therefore irredeemable, is that correct?Google searches has me 90% sure this is correct but I welcome opinions here.
― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, 30 March 2018 14:15 (six years ago) link
That's a hilarious metal band name.
― jmm, Friday, 30 March 2018 14:21 (six years ago) link
In other news, anyone making the trek to Philly for the Decibel metal & Beer Fest?
http://scontent.fewr1-4.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/29542823_10160236218730597_1995971344426030973_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&_nc_eui2=v1%3AAeFy1I5tWEdl8j6dz9ZgH5TxUEokUHR-XW4nWGobFcsohpPtxjOvEKKl2e-rSuczTZZC4gOo-stFN05EPSrrzKEupo20yEB1SSt1EqbKSx23uw&oh=89bdc59ffc26f02f1002cabbb22d7494&oe=5B6A9F6B
― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Friday, 30 March 2018 14:25 (six years ago) link
Oceans of Slumber, whose new album The Banished Heart is out now and fantastic, are touring the US with Insomnium in May and June.
― grawlix (unperson), Friday, 30 March 2018 15:45 (six years ago) link
― wronger than 100 geir posts (MacDara), Thursday, March 29, 2018 1:05 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i learned this during my band's set last night and suggested we abandon our current setlist to just play until your heart stops straight through (we are not capable of playing anything like until your heart stops straight through)
this is so sad and awful
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Friday, 30 March 2018 15:47 (six years ago) link
Dont know what the guy’s private views are but I never got an NSBM vibe from Ad Hominem, their records are all over-the-top misanthropy clearly aimed to be as offensive as possible, with songs like Glory Hole Jesus and Anus Of Yahweh & all that so I’d stay clear of them if that isn’t your thing.
― Siegbran, Saturday, 31 March 2018 08:54 (six years ago) link
New Lychgate for people who like their death metal with a massive Castlevania church organ vibe.http://blood-music.bandcamp.com/album/the-contagion-in-nine-steps
I just listened to this last night/this morning and was pretty intrigued and engaged. Some nice intricate dissonant guitar work.
― No purposes. Sounds. (Sund4r), Saturday, 31 March 2018 15:32 (six years ago) link
Kim Kelley at Noisey previewed the new album from Italian jazz-doom-drone merchants Messa.
http://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/vbx7d4/jazz-drone-and-doom-collide-on-this-genre-defying-new-album-from-messa
You can stream it at the link via SoundCloud.
While generally I tend to like whatever Kim recommends, I really enjoy this and am surprised at how simple and accessible it is with so many moving parts.
― Loud guitars shit all over "Bette Davis Eyes" (NYCNative), Saturday, 31 March 2018 16:32 (six years ago) link
That was featured in the monthly metal column on Stereogum, too. I like it a lot more than their debut, which was missing the jazz elements.
https://messa666.bandcamp.com/album/feast-for-water
― grawlix (unperson), Saturday, 31 March 2018 17:52 (six years ago) link
Really enjoying the Lychgate. It's a subtler record than the first one, with less church organ, which may place it a little closer to some of your tastes
― imago, Sunday, 1 April 2018 14:26 (six years ago) link
I mean it's still totally a death metal opera, but a good one
― imago, Sunday, 1 April 2018 14:27 (six years ago) link
That Messa SoundCloud won't play for me. I don't hear any jazz-drone in "Leah," but I liked Belfry, and looking forward to hearing the new one. Kim mentioned Jex Thoth, who told me at a show back in 2014 that a new album was on the way, perhaps this will be the year. There's been a similar long wait for Finnish occult band Mansion -- they told me the mix is done on new album and announcement coming soon. Things to look forward to.
― Fastnbulbous, Sunday, 1 April 2018 14:47 (six years ago) link
Wrote a review of the Inhumankind album for Burning Ambulance this morning; it'll be up on Tuesday.
― grawlix (unperson), Sunday, 1 April 2018 15:35 (six years ago) link
Deceased are doing a one off in Tampa on 4/20. no way I'm missing that.
― fuck the NRA (Neanderthal), Sunday, 1 April 2018 15:52 (six years ago) link
That Messa sounds fantastic. Thanks, guys.
― A. Begrand, Sunday, 1 April 2018 18:37 (six years ago) link
Was at my mum's yesterday, cleaning out shite from my old room. Found a tape copy of the first Immolation album, which some dude is selling for £££ in Discogs, and the second Cancer album, which goes for similar. Also found a box of 7"s which I'd not seen for years, where the inbuilt kudos wasn't quite as comprehensive: Skid Row, Wratchild, Faster Pussycat. Did have a couple of nice BrutalTruth and Fu Manchu 7s, however. Where did the time go?
― The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums (Chinaski), Monday, 2 April 2018 13:40 (six years ago) link
I wrote about the 10th anniversary of The Sword's Gods of the Earth and "hipster metal" for Stereogum.
― grawlix (unperson), Monday, 2 April 2018 17:18 (six years ago) link
Q1 bandcamp linkspamtacular:
Oppressive blackened death with curious production detailshttps://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/pandaemorthium-forbidden-formulas-to-awaken-the-blind-sovereigns-of-nothingness
ADD bedroom tech-death with a bit of character (NYP)https://estuarinemetal.bandcamp.com/album/sic-erat-scriptum
Cold and moist cavernous death-doomhttps://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/untitled
Dramatic melodic death-doomhttps://hamferd.bandcamp.com/
Suffocating atmospheric black metal in spaaaaacehttps://mahr-pk.bandcamp.com/album/antelux
Fairly standard but satisfying black metal with a couple of folkish toucheshttps://nahtrunar.bandcamp.com/album/mysterium-tremendum
Deeply atmospheric post-black/space ambient from Ethiopia <--- recommended ffo Progenie Terrestre Purahttps://nishaiar.bandcamp.com/album/irix-zerius
Spooooky raw ambient bmhttps://sunsunmoon.bandcamp.com/album/demons-in-medieval-times
Slightly nuts rustic bm:https://ungfell.bandcamp.com/album/mythen-m-ren-pestilenz
Harrowing blackened funereal something somethinghttps://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/loss
― obnoxious pun (ultros ultros-ghali), Monday, 2 April 2018 18:48 (six years ago) link
...and...
NEW MESARTHIMhttps://mesarthim.bandcamp.com/album/the-density-parameter
― imago, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 08:33 (six years ago) link
Yes! and still doing the space nerd stuff too
― StanM, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 09:15 (six years ago) link
recommended ffo Progenie Terrestre Pura
seen
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 11:50 (six years ago) link
omg new mesarthim
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 12:11 (six years ago) link
is it good or is it going more in the float-y direction?
― she carries a torch. two torches, actually (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 13:07 (six years ago) link
i’ve only listened to the first track but it’s p heavy and majestic from the jump
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 13:11 (six years ago) link
decode the morse code at the end :-)
― StanM, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 17:55 (six years ago) link
This is a couple of years late and slightly off topic but this album by Harm Done is really running a rusty shovel through my brainpan right now
http://harmdone.bandcamp.com/album/abuse-abused
Nasty, super-pissed French hardcore with some power violence/grind vibes and excellently septic production.
― my dreams in the hell-pits (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 13:32 (six years ago) link
the new Morrow is *f a n t a s t i c*
― Simon H., Wednesday, 4 April 2018 15:10 (six years ago) link
(I'm not kidding about the morse code at the end of the final Mesarthim track by the way, it's worth decoding
― StanM, Wednesday, 4 April 2018 16:46 (six years ago) link
the new underoath album is only... sorta metal. (about half of it could be read as a real sell-out move, the choruses are occasionally stock rock radio.) but i mostly wanted to mention it bc i think unperson may potentially like it
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 23:06 (six years ago) link
I can never remember remember which is Underoath and which is Unearth. Will this album help with that?
― grawlix (unperson), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 23:16 (six years ago) link
i actually don't know anything about unearth but given that they're both metalcore bands, maybe not?
― flamenco drop (BradNelson), Wednesday, 4 April 2018 23:24 (six years ago) link